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Friday, 27 September 2013

My friend Tiggertom – Canonfire! –
pointed out to me that Anna, Lady of Geography, has placed Kingsholm – from the
module, "Barrow of the Forgotten King" – in the Good Hills of County
Flen, of the Kingdom of Keoland.

He pointed this out because he's
playing in my RPoL "Barrow of the Forgotten King" game. I believe I
knew that Anna had done that, but chose to place my version in the Old Hills of
the County Palatine of Ulek. I did this, because I believe that it better fits
the story.

Ian Trubrand insists that someone
from his family has run the Cabbage & Coronet Inn for more than 300 years.

The graveyard has existed for centuries and the townsfolk are convinced that it
predates the town of Kingsholm. A mile north of the town, upon a high hill,
stands an ancient statue of a King. No one knows who he was, or why the statue
was erected.This implies that this King was
"forgotten" before Ian's family ever started the Inn.

Sometime around the year -323 CY,
Immris of the Suloise house of Rhola founded the city of Jurnre; which is the
County's capital to this day. Sometime in the century of -245 to -145 CY, the
early rulers of Ulek fought the Goblin War, forcing the Goblins and Orcs back
into the Lortmil Mountains. – County of Ulek

The Goblin War took place some 700
years ago. Perfect!

According to the back-story of the
"Forgotten King," a young warrior named Theron snuck into the camp of
a half-Orc chieftain named Kroack and stole the sword Merthuvial, which had
been taken from its original owner, an unnamed Dwarven King.

Kroack had united the nearby Orc,
Goblin and Hobgoblin clans into an army and they were laying waste to
everything around. He nearly succeeded, so that only one fortified village
remained in the territory. And here enters the hero – Theron.

Theron and his friends rallied the
villagers and – though outnumbered four to one – drove the humanoids from the
valley! Knowing that the fight wasn't over, Theron arranged defensive
agreements with the other remaining settlements and he soon found himself at
the center of a vast alliance.

Naturally, when all was said and
done, they hailed Theron as their King and he ruled with the sword Merthuvial
in his hand. Until he was betrayed, of course; One of Theron's oldest
companions grew jealous, made a pact with the humanoids and dwellers of the
Underdark. The "Betrayer" killed Theron in a final duel, but was
himself captured by the people, executed and forced to guard the King's tomb
and sword . . . forever.

Nothing like this took place in the
Good Hills, certainly not in the time frame given. With all due respect for my
beloved Anna – who has been a friend and advisor for years – for me, the town
of Kingsholm and the story of Theron – the "Forgotten King" – fit perfectly into
the history of the Ulek States . . . and I've chosen the County.

Can anyone reading this think of a
better fit for Kingsholm and the story of Theron? If you do/can, I'd like to
hear it!

Wednesday, 25 September 2013

Well, I'm starting another RPoL game, a couple actually. I'm doing it with Invitees, those who know it's going to be 3.5 with House Rules. There will be at least two games and these are the four Modules that I am currently considering:

I can only suppose that you guys recognize those? LOL

Yes, they're Classics, but Classics that I never got to play. So this is my chance. So, if I only run two of them -- at least to begin with -- which two would you pick? Let me know what you think, I'll be starting the games within the next week.

Thursday, 19 September 2013

My RPoL Players had trouble
acknowledging that they "broke the law." They were certain that I was
being an asshole. I was "mad" in real life and taking it out in the
game.

I finally posted a thread detailing
the laws of the City of Greyhawk that I use in the world at large. The City of
Greyhawk boxed set – "Folk, Feuds and Factions," Chapter 2, page 11
(page 13 in PDF) – list the "Serious Crimes" for the City of
Greyhawk, along with the prescribed Punishments. The Punishments vary, which is
why I use it for the "whole world." Different places administer
different Punishment for the various crimes. I feel that this Source also
prevents my Players for thinking that I'm "making it up" as I go
along.

Yet, in spite of this, my Players
still felt that their characters had done nothing wrong. Here's what happened:

The townsfolk needed help. Citizens
had gone missing in the Cemetery and there was talk of Undead. In this
atmosphere – on the very first day – the Gnome Illusionist jumped up on the
table after taking on the guise of a miniature Zombie. Panic ensued.

Townsfolk broke tables, chairs,
windows and doors, in an effort to exit the Inn. The Inn happened to be owned
by the Town Speaker (Mayor) and both he and the Town Council were present to
witness all of this. They were outraged by the prank.

They threatened to arrest the
persons responsible – the Gnome Illusionist – for Disturbing the Peace,
Destruction of Private Property and Inciting a Riot. Each of these is a
violation of the law in Greyhawk, thus in my world.

Two of the Players' characters then
Threatened Government Officials, promising bodily harm in they dared try to
arrest their friends. (A felony in the United States) The Town Guard was
summoned and the Militia turned out. (These characters really suck at
Diplomacy) I had to use an NPC to get the situation back under control. Once this
was done, the Players sent their characters to see if there was anyone still
alive in the Cemetery -- on with the mission!

After some adventure, they returned
to town and – in their cups – they started joking about this and sort of
"making fun" of the Town Speaker while back at the Inn. The Innkeeper
(Town Speaker) was getting the idea that at least one – maybe two – of the
characters were under the impression that they hadn't been arrested because the
Town Council had been "cowed" by the PCs.

Needless to say, the Town Speaker
wasn't about to let that slide . . . again. So, he was off to summon the Town
Guard.

One of my Players wised up and asked
me what could be done to prevent them having to go through all of this again.
What was needed? Diplomacy.

I'm bending over backwards trying to
keep the game going, instead of having it end in a fiasco. What do you do in
these situations? Do you start throwing PCs into jail? Or do you pretend that
they haven't broke the law, even though they have?

Sunday, 1 September 2013

I make no pretense of having my own "House
Rules" in my games. There are parts of 3.5 that I don't care for, yet the
Dungeon Master's Guide book freely admits that there are "Variant"
rules and that a DM might make his/her own rules. Interestingly, the DMG does
not say that – in the DMs doing so – the game is no longer 3.5. No, even with "House
Rules," the game remains 3.5.

But I have been accused of making my
own rules with regards to Listen, Spot and Search checks. My RPoL Players are
insisting that they are always Listening and Spotting and Searching. Yet,
that's not what the rules say. The Players Handbook page 78 states:

"Your Listen check is either
made against a DC that reflects how quiet the noise is that you might hear, or
it is opposed by your target's Move Silently check."

This tells me that a Player's Listen
check is not "automatic." My NPC monsters have the "legal
right" to oppose a Player's Listen with their Move Silently check. If a Player
does not roll a Listen check, how are my monsters to roll an opposed Move
Silently? Am I now supposed to assign the Player a "permanent"
natural 20 on a Listen check? Sorry, but that is never going to happen.

My monsters can roll a Listen check
whenever they want, even if they are "talking" on Sentry Duty. One NPC
holds his hand up, indicating that the other be silent, because the first one
is now Listening. I inform my Players of this action by telling them to make a Move
Silently roll. If they choose not to make the roll, that's their business, but
my monsters will automatically win the non-roll . . . they will hear the PCs.

I believe that some of the Players
are hung up on this sentence: "Your DM may decide to make the Listen check
for you . . ." They insist that I am supposed to make the Listen, Spot and
Search check rolls for them, but that's not what that sentence is saying. The sentence is saying that it's my decision to make.

I have already informed each of them
that I will not make the check for them. According to the above sentence, that
is not their decision, it is my decision. My Players will make their own Listen
checks and if they don't, then my monsters automatically win their "opposed"
Move Silently rolls and the Players do not hear them.

This argument is even carrying over
to Spot checks; The Player's Handbook page 83 states:

"Your Spot is opposed by the Hide
check of the creature trying not to be seen. Sometimes a creature isn't
intentionally hiding but is still difficult to see, so a successful Spot check is
necessary to notice it."

And all this time I was being
accused of making up my own rules. If a Player does not roll a Spot check – of
their own volition – then how do they "see" the monster which might be hiding? This "rule"
even points out that a monster does not necessarily need to be actively hiding
in order not to be seen by the Player! If the Player does not make a Spot
check, then how does he/she "automatically" Spot the monster in
question, if said monster isn't standing "out in the open?"

And that brings us to the Search
check; The Player's Handbook page 81 states:

"The Search skill allows a
character to discern some small detail or irregularity through active effort .
. . You must be within 10 feet of the object or surface to be searched."

If Players do not roll a Search
check, then the Players "discern" nothing. So why am I cheating when
I tell a Player that they just stepped on a trap? The "rule" is quite
clear: If the Player does not roll a Search check, then the Player is not
Searching.

I'm beginning to appreciate that 3.5
Players are nothing but "hack and slash" Gamers, at least, that's true of about half of the 3.5 Players that I've met so far. They want to be able
to breeze through the Game World, hacking and slashing and having a good time,
without any danger to themselves. All monsters automatically "fall"
before their blood thirsty blades!

So tell me, do your Players
automatically "hear" everything and "see" everything and "find"
everything, without making a successful roll?

Yeah, I'm beginning to see that 3.5
is not the Edition for me. Or maybe I should try a game of 3.5 with 2nd
Edition Players? Trust me, 3.5 Players just don't seem to be working out.